Sunroof Cable Assembly 97 3000gt

[gsurges]

I took apart my sunroof to see why it wouldn't open. Removed the headliner and removed the sunroof panel including the motor. Removed the rails and inspected them. Can anyone explain what connects the cables to the lifter? The only part that fits in the cable groove is the slider. Does the cable attach to that?

[gsurges]

Whoa ... now I see how the cable connect. There's a plastic wedge attached to the cable that should fit into the opposing wedge on the slider. I just need to figure out if it is to worn and how to reassemble it

[gsurges]

I just got my sunroof parts from Mitsubishi. It looks like they redesigned the connection between the Sliders (MR2336101 and 02) and the cables. I also oredered the Operating unit (MR200678) (the thing with the copper tubes). I was surprised that the cables came packaged with the sliders. Also a surprise, the cables are unique for left and right. The cable now plugs in to a slot on the new slider.

[gsurges]

When I opened the headliner I found the cable over retracted and sticking out under the headliner. On the end of the cable that connects to the slider, the triangular plastic end was worn causing sunroof motor to run without moving the sliders.

There are a number of names for MR200678 (the thing with the copper tubes) ie. "regulator", "operating assembly". Whatever you call it, the cable shouldn't be coming out of the tube you see in the picture which is where I found it when I opened up the headliner.

The mitsubishitechinfo.com site has some instructions on how to remove the sunroof assembly but it assumes you can open the sunroof. I couldn't so I had to take it out from below. Once the headliner is removed, there are three bolts on each side, two bolts in the back, two alignment bolts on either side. You have to cut one of the wire holders, and disconnect the wiring harness going to the motor and the four drain hoses to get it loose. If you can't raise the sunroof lid be aware that even after removing all the bolts, the lid is still sitting on a metal lip (shelf) towards the rear so you have to pull the whole sunroof assembly toward the dash to get out. It helps to have an extra set of hands.

Once the unit is out, remove lifter assembly and lid from the housing. Remove the lid (four bolts under the lid liner). Remove the lifter rail and slide the whole thing away to reveal the cable and the connector built onto the ends. Mine looked worn (Pic 2)

I couldn't get a confirmation if the cable came with the operating assembly or with the sliders so I ordered MR200678 "operating assembly" and the left and right "sliders" MR236101 and 02. As it turned out the cables were included in the packaging for the sliders ($14.98 ea). It remains to be seen if I wasted an additional $124 for the operating assembly but I replaced it anyhow.

[gsurges]

It's a little tricky getting the link (MR236108 and 07) and sliders into the rails (MR236098 and 07) But if you take it apart you should be able to figure it out.

Insert the cable through the rail from the back to the front. Insert the link from the front (half the length), connect the cable to the slider, insert the slider into the groove in the link and then push the cable and slider into the rail towards the back of the rail.

Push the link in until it snaps into the notch on the opposite side of the rail (see Pic1). Press the link tab in so you can insert it further.

Push the slider as far as it will go. It this point you can insert the Lifter assembly (MR236099 and 100) to the slider. The lifter should be in the raised position when you do this. Push the entire assembly into the rail until the link locks into the notch again and you should be ready to start re-assembling the unit.

In my case, I had a new "operating assembly" so I didn't have to deal with getting the old cable out of the assembly. Remove the three screws attaching the operation assembly and motor to the housing (there are two more screws under the motor). installed the new operating assembly. Re-mounted the rails to the frame assembly, replaced the operating assembly with no cable in it and fed the cables into the curved tubes of the operating assembly. (The motor is still off so you can see where the cables engage the motor).

The mitsubishitechinfo.com site ($19.95 per day) had a few tips on aligning the motor with the cables but the only thing I got out of it was you need to install the motor with the lifters in the tilted up position. Put the motor back in, and start re-assembly.

The mitsubishitechinfo site also had some instructions on longitudinal, lateral and vertical adjustments but it's pretty basic.

Thanks to all the 3Si guys who posted on "how to remove a headliner" and all the preliminary pieces that I left out of this. I never saw a how to on replacing the cables so I thought I'd tell you how I did it.

I now have a working sunroof!